The 2016 summer season is upon us and with that comes the opening of the Mattapoisett Historical Society Museum. This year’s opening theme features all manner of warm weather sports-related memorabilia from their extensive collection.

In this tiny town, one would not imagine such a variety of activities, yet inside the historic museum’s walls you’ll find antiques and objects ranging from swimsuits to baseball bats, river race boats to golf balls and signs proclaiming beach rules and regulations. But the overarching theme is ‘fun in the sun.’

“We have so many bathing suits,” said museum president Jennifer McIntire. “We could have done a whole exhibit just on bathing suits if we had enough mannequins,” she laughed.

Adding a richer layer to the theme of sports activities is the addition of two boats used in the Annual Rochester Memorial Day Boat Race, which finishes in Mattapoisett on the Mattapoisett River.

Race historian Art Benner has loaned a boat, as has Mattapoisett resident and race participant Jodi Bauer. The unique round paddles also on display propel the craft through shallow water or swift torrents. With Benner’s assistance, McIntire was able to show the deep history this event holds for Mattapoisett and Rochester beginning in 1934. Of the boats themselves, though various materials have been used in their making, it’s the tried and true plywood version that is the standard.

Moving to another grouping, one finds baseball bats, a catcher’s mitt and face guard, and a smooth baseball. Considering the science now employed for their modern day versions, these items look primitive. An accompanying piece is a newspaper clipping from the August 13, 1899 issue of The Boston Daily Globe. It reads in part:

“Mattapoisett Ball Club is the sporty thing in town which all swear by. It defeats the Marions and the New Bedford YMCA … and is ready to meet still better clubs than these … the town is very proud of its ball tossers this year.”

            Golf also has long been a part of the summer fun in Mattapoisett, dating back to 1887 and King Charles. The description alongside wooden clubs and early golf balls says that the present day Reservation Golf Club was built in 1895 for the King’s private use and that the first clubhouse was constructed in 1900. This collection should make the modern player appreciate just how good they have it now.

Let’s not forget bicycling. There is a bike from 1870 with a giant front wheel and tiny back wheels. Imagine that going down the Mattapoisett Bike Path today! The information placard tells the visitor that in 1893, one million bicycles were in use and that by 1900 the figure was ten million. The growth was primarily due to females being allowed to participate in the sport of bicycling. Yes – girl power.

And speaking of girl power, getting back to those bathing suits McIntire talked about earlier, the lady’s suit is magnificent. One piece, of course, and black wool, of course, yet it was scandalous for its day. Annette Kellermann designed this suit in 1920.

Kellermann was a film actress and advocate for women’s right to wear a one-piece bathing suit versus the accepted pantaloons. In fact, she created an entire line of ladies’ swimwear. However, cultural norms of the day didn’t favor that much female flesh being on public display. In 1907, Kellermann was arrested at Revere Beach wearing one of her own creations.

McIntire shared that she and museum curator Jeffrey Miller had quite a time dressing the two mannequins, one male and one female, in the old suits.

“We had to be careful not to damage the fabrics,” she said.

McIntire said, “We have so many ideas for other exhibits.” She said the museum has a vast collection of clothing, everything from bonnets to swimsuits to undergarments and accessories.

Of future plans, the society is thinking about exhibits highlighting all the schools that once dotted the Mattapoisett landscape and all the big-thinkers, the inventors who have lived in and around the Tri-Town area.

“We are planning to exhibit a WWI uniform and weapons once owned by Enoch Winslow. McIntire said that Winslow gave well-known historian Seth Mendell his first job and that Mendell will be doing a series of lectures this season on WWI.

For more information on museum hours and the summer fun season of activities the society has planned, visit www.mattapoisetthistoricalsociety.org.

By Marilou Newell

When you lose your grandmother to Alzheimer’s disease, your mother to it, and now your aunt is stricken with the devastating illness as well, you get to thinking, is Alzheimer’s destined to be my inevitable demise, too?

This is the reality facing 53-year-old Marion resident Terrance Lee who, at the time of turning 50, took a good look at himself and the risk factors he was harboring and decided he had to do something about it.

“I turned 50, the typical ‘woe is me,’ it’s all downhill from here…. I thought, Wow. I’m kind of freaked out,” Lee said. “I might be getting this myself.”

So he did some reading on the topic, looking for a ray of hope, a way to lower his chances of developing the debilitating disease that appears to run in families.

“I learned that’s not necessarily the case,” he said. He found through research that he could live a happy, healthy lifestyle, exercise more, and improve his eating habits, all ways found to help stave off Alzheimer’s, he said.

It wasn’t long before Lee’s motivation brought him to his feet, running marathons and road races along with his brother, Cliff Lee, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Yet, with so many others out there who face the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, Lee felt compelled to share the hope of outrunning the disease by reaching out to others in his age bracket, the Baby Boomer generation, to get more people involved in taking control of their health and their future.

“The idea was, how can I motivate myself as well as other people who have the same concerns?” said Lee. “I started this thing called ‘BoomerangFit.’ We’re ‘boomers’ but we want to ‘boomerang’ back to where we were twenty, thirty…when you felt like you were okay from a health standpoint.”

Two years ago, Lee and his brother ran the Boston Fenway Park Spartan Race Sprint and recruited a group of boomers to join in. It was fun, Lee said, figuring perhaps he could do more healthy events like that more often – “crazy” events, Lee said, crazy enough to raise awareness of the disease and so people might be inclined to sponsor Lee to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s care, treatment, and research for a cure.

Lee figured, “Let’s do that by setting goals to do crazy stuff and let’s use the crazy stuff to raise money.”

This year, after a number of Spartan obstacle races, Lee wanted to step things up for 2016 with something that would make people say, “Holy crap! I would never do that!”

“Otherwise,” Lee said, “it doesn’t grab people’s attention.”

Lee factored in his fear of heights and thought, hmm … let’s climb a mountain.

So this year’s crazy challenge is to climb Mount Baker in Seattle, said Lee.

Mount Baker is an ‘active glaciated andesitic stratovolcano,’ part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, and the third highest peak in the state of Washington at 10,781 feet.

In preparation, Lee trained on “how not to die,” as he put it, and he will be joined by two other mates when they begin the climb on Thursday, July 16.

“Like everyone, I need a goal of something to motivate me,” said Lee. He still gets up at 5:00 am to train and workout every morning. “When you’re getting up at 5:00 am, it’s good to have that goal of, holy crap, I have to climb a mountain in two weeks!”

BoomerangFit is now ten boomers strong. If you’re interested in learning more about the group that does “survivable, crazy, but not stupid” challenges all to keep themselves strong against the threat of Alzheimer’s while raising money for a cure, visit www.boomerangfit.com. To support Lee’s Mount Baker challenge, you can donate online at www.curealz.org/heroes/team-boomerangfit.

“I got two kids in college, so I need to stay alive for a few years,” said Lee.

By Jean Perry

The first thing that generally comes to mind when you think of the Lions Club is eyeglasses. In 1925, Helen Keller addressed a Lions Club convention being held in Ohio with the stirring call to be “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” That stuck and for decades the Lions Club both nationally and internationally has been supporting eye research and providing eyeglasses.

Yet the original foundation of the organization, which today boasts millions of members around the global, was ‘We serve.’ In 1917, founder Melvin Jones, a Chicago-based business leader, asked the membership to “reach beyond business issues and address the betterment of their communities and the world.”

            Today, the work of serving others quietly takes places in cities and towns, in villages and neighborhoods, through small-scale and large-scale activities. And right here, nestled in our community of Mattapoisett, is a group of Lions whose quest to provide for a need, answer a call, or lend a hand continues.

“People think the Lions Club is a bunch of old guys donating glasses, but it’s far more than that,” says Lisa Bindas. Four years ago when she and her partner, Jaci Barnett, joined the Lions Club at the urging of another member, Ken Pacheco, they weren’t sure it was the right fit for them. Before long, any questions they may have had about the work of the Lions were answered.

Bindas and Barnett, along with other members of the Mattapoisett Lions Club, drove to New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to take supplies to the Lions Clubs there who were struggling to assist storm victims.

“We took everything – pet food, human food, clothing,” Bindas said. “That’s just it,” Bindas continued. “Whenever anyone is in need, we help.”

Bindas’ comments were echoed by outgoing Mattapoisett Lions Club president Rob Haley.

“Sure, we do Harbor Days,” said Haley, “but we do so many other things.”

Since Haley’s tenure began, he has reached deep into the community to partner with schools, town halls, visiting nurses, and churches.

“I found out that in New Bedford, seven hundred kids spend weekends with little or no food. They are depending on the schools for their meals.” There was apparent pain in Haley’s voice belying an otherwise calm demeanor. “The biggest thing is so many kids that really struggle, they need clothes and food,” he said.

The Mattapoisett Lions Club is helping to bridge that need.

The list of needs that the organization has assisted with is long and covers a swath of human suffering from hunger to mobility issues to building wheelchair ramps to cleaning out an elderly person’s hoard to giving away eyeglasses.

“We are in partnership with LensCrafters. If someone goes there and has a demonstrated financial problem, we’ll pay the bill,” said Haley.

So while the work they are most known for continues, the variety of services provided has expanded just as founder Jones had hoped it would.

But, let’s not forget other activities that provide fun relief from the problems of the now and take one to a happy place where the smell of frying foods and the joyous sounds of laughter on a hot summer’s day can only mean one thing: Harbor Days in Mattapoisett.

“People plan their summer vacations, time to visit family, during the week of Harbor Days,” said Bindas.

This year, there will once again be the kick-off event – the triathlon – followed by a week of food, entertainment and, yes, a field of craft booths where objects of every sort will be on sale.

New this year will be a painting class under the tent. Now a sold-out event, participants will be guided by a teacher who will show them how to paint Ned’s Point Lighthouse.

Both Bindas and Haley spoke to the importance of corporate sponsorships to help the Lions Club meet the needs of the communities it serves.

Bindas went one step further, saying, “When local people support local businesses, we can help local people.” It’s a circle, she described. “Internet sales hurt businesses like mine,” she said. “People will come in, we’ll help them, but then they actually buy online.” Bindas and Barnett own Gotta Have It, located on Route 6 in Fairhaven. “We depend on the local economy so we can give back to local people.”

Haley said that Harbor Days is a massive undertaking, putting tremendous stress and responsibility squarely on the shoulders of members and anyone they can conscript to lend a hand.

“We generally take the summer off after Harbor Days,” Haley said with a chuckle.

Haley said the 2016 goals of the Lions Club were four-fold: 1) sharing the vision; 2) protecting the environment; 3) feeding the hungry; and 4) engaging youth. With its programs partnering with LensCrafters, to electronic recycling days, to feeding and clothing children, all four goals have been met.

The work continues, however. Haley said of the current membership, “We have a lot of retired people; they want to retire from the Lions also.” Increasing new membership will be paramount to the incoming new President Kim Grodzki. Haley also said, “When you donate, you want to know where your money is going – we keep money in the community.”

Harbor Days begins on Sunday, July 10 at 8:00 am with the triathlon, and winds down on July 17 with a pancake breakfast under the tent.

Visit www.mattapoisettlionsclub.org to learn more about the organization, upcoming events, and don’t forget – Movie Nights will also be returning. Stay tuned!

By Marilou Newell